Complejo Living Apartments, Salou

We stayed here for a week in September 2005. The apartments are described by tour operators (our was Cosmos) as sleeping 6 but there were only 4 in our party and we paid £217 each for the package. They are advertised as 4* and did meet all expectations.

The apartments are part of a walled and gated complex of 3 blocks which centre around the pool, with well maincured lawns. The outside of the complex is also well kept and spotlessly ...
...with other similar complexes and hotels. There's very little noise at night, except for entertainment in the hotels (which is over by midnight) and the occasional sounds of excited new arrivals exploring. Each block has 3 floors and a lift.

The pool isn't heated and there are lots of rules posted up regarding what you can and cannot do in and around it. This may sound a bit severe, but the apartments are classed as residential, with ... more

We stayed here for a week in September 2005. The apartments are described by tour operators (our was Cosmos) as sleeping 6 but there were only 4 in our party and we paid £217 each for the package. They are advertised as 4* and did meet all expectations.

The apartments are part of a walled and gated complex of 3 blocks which centre around the pool, with well maincured lawns. The outside of the complex is also well kept and spotlessly clean. It's in a quiet road in a quiet district with other similar complexes and hotels. There's very little noise at night, except for entertainment in the hotels (which is over by midnight) and the occasional sounds of excited new arrivals exploring. Each block has 3 floors and a lift.

The pool isn't heated and there are lots of rules posted up regarding what you can and cannot do in and around it. This may sound a bit severe, but the apartments are classed as residential, with lots of Spanish residents, many of whom appear to be there on a year round basis. We didn't actually go into the pool at all as we prefered using those at the nearby hotels which all had pool bars etc; but we did see other people having a good time in it. You can also go into any hotel to watch their entertainment and can arrange to eat at some of them on a half/full board basis via the management company.

There's no reception at all in the complex. The properties are managed by a company called Euromed who are situated around 800m away in the next street. They supply your keys in exchange for a €100 deposit - no problems at all getting it returned. You only get one key per apartment, which can be a pain. They are also very good for a number of other things, like safety deposit boxes (€26, €10 refunded on return of the key), local area information etc; and also act as a luggage storage place if you have a late flight home at no extra charge. The only downside to keeping your money and valuables here is that it operates on Spanish working hours and closes for siesta during the middle of the day. .

The apartments themselves (no, I didn't forget what I was meant to be reviewing) are lovely. They have a good sized living dining area with tv (no English speaking channels). A small fitted kitchen with fridge/freezer, oven and hob, microwave and washing machine. They don't come with a kettle (we used a saucepan) but you can hire them (along with many other things) from Euromed. The living space has a wall mounted air conditioner/heater and instructions for all the electrical equipment were left for us. After seeing inside 1 or 2 others I can say that they're all of the same standard but are individually furnished and finished according to whoever owns them.

There are 2 bedrooms; one with 2 single beds and fitted wardrobe and one with a double bed and a huge en suite with bath and shower. There is also a wc/shower room off the hallway. All the rooms have patio doors fitted with security shutters which lead onto the balcony. This runs the whole length of the apartment and is also a really good size. It has electric awnings that are essential, and clothes drying facilities.

We arrived in the early hours of the morning. We'd bought tea/coffee/sugar/milk from the airline stewards for about €6 on the way over. This was the best idea my friend ahd had in ages as the cupboards were bare when we got there. There was also a distinct lack of that other traveller's essential - loo roll - which the maid is supposed to leave. The maid service is once a week to change the towels and bedding.

The brochures don't make it clear enough that there's no reception and this was a problem for a few guests. It was a bit of a shock for our neighbours, who were really unhappy and asked to be moved. They did eventually settle, and I think arriving in the middle of the night made them feel so insecure. Another couple spent the whole first night on the stairwell ,as the rep didn't check they had the right key before she left. This is obviously the fault of the holiday company - not the apartment - but I thought it was worth mentioning. As Euromed is closed at night you have to rely on contacting your rep to sort any problems, so you should ensure you have their contact details before they go.

The complex is well situated. A 5 minute walk from the centre of salou, 10 mins from the beach and 15mins to Port Aventura in one direction, the old town and train station in the other. I won't elaborate on Salou itself...I saw a review comparing it to Blackpool and thought that summed it up nicely...

All in all, we had a great time staying here. The size of the appartments ensured we had enough space from each other if we needed it, and the communal spaces were big enough for us all to be together in comfortably.

If you want to check them out in more detail you can see them on the following site:

www.euromedtravel.com/livingparkapartments.htm 

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